​​The Belair Lip Bombs - Again

The Belair Lip Bombs' second album, 'Again', sees the Melbourne lot doubling down on what they do best - warm, melodic indie with just enough friction to keep things interesting. It's full of soft pivots: jangly alt-rock, sun-faded slacker-pop and the occasional flash of grit when the mood calls for it.

Where 2023 debut 'Lush Life' was fuzzier, 'Again' feels more measured. The choruses hit more cleanly, the production's had a polish, and the band sound increasingly assured in how they deliver a hook. 'Again and Again' and 'Don't Let Them Tell You (It's Fair)' both tap into that classic alt-rock backbone of warm guitars and tightly wound melodies. There's something faintly Haim-adjacent in the delivery – not in imitation, but in that same mix of restraint and precision.

'Another World' is a clear high point, pairing urgency with clarity. 'Cinema' sways in like a memory half-formed, full of soft nostalgia and long shadows. 'Back of My Hand' is perhaps the sweetest moment here – its title lyric delivered with unguarded sincerity, bordering on sentimental but pulling it off.

Elsewhere, the record drifts in and out of focus, but rarely loses its shape. Even quieter moments – like the reflective near-closer 'Burning Up', which contains the quietly haunting lyric "you've got to cut out the cancer" – land with weight.

For a band whose influences range from Queen to hardcore, it's impressive how coherent it all sounds. Nothing feels stitched together or overthought. Instead, 'Again' presents as an album made by a group who know what works for them, and who trust their instincts. It may not shout for your attention, but it earns it anyway.